Can you honestly say that you’re getting the highest return on your IT investment? Don’t worry — you’re not alone. Many IT organizations struggle with meeting the day-to-day demands of the business, not to mention keeping pace with the rapid changes in technology.

But perhaps surprisingly, the solution has very little to do with improving the effectiveness of your IT organization. Here’s why.

IT organizations are complex, and they operate in a complex world. But improving the way they work is less about technology, and more about taking a hard look at IT processes, IT organization, and IT Governance.

At Credera, we use the IT Function Model to prioritize the IT processes for our clients. Following a structured approach, we achieve higher performance by first identifying the mechanisms that most need improvement.

Time and time again, we find that major improvements to the following processes can have a dramatic impact on the IT function’s overall effectiveness. If your organization needs to address return on your IT investment, begin by examining these high-priority opportunities:

Project portfolio planning: It may seem simplistic, but defining the right things to work on is critical. Engaging leadership in a business-driven dialogue about what to do is also critical. And keeping the business focused in a “priority mode” — while challenging — is equally important. Developing a strategy to support this dialogue and ensuring the business leadership views these meetings as a “must attend” requires discipline and focus.

 

Program and project management – Correctly implementing the seven Disciplines of Program and Project Management can lead to higher return on your project investments. And while developing approaches that work within your specific environment may require a significant investment of time and resources, the payoff can be huge.

 

Project execution (SDLC) – Maintaining a consistent and effective approach to the project improves the way the organization implements those initiatives “on the ground.” At the same time, the development of common tools, templates and processes will have a far-reaching impact on your organization’s ability to deliver projects on time and on budget.

 

Resource management – To make the most of every project, make sure you have the right people working at the right tasks. Use a resource skills assessment to evaluate your IT personnel (i.e. leadership skills, specific technologies, infrastructure skills). Knowing how to leverage your intellectual capital will help you match skill levels to both the current technology — and to the future direction of the IT function.

Once these things are done, there’s still a lot more work to do. But you have to start somewhere — and our experience shows that focusing on these issues can help you achieve meaningful results faster.

Of course, if you find yourself needing a push in the right direction, Credera is here to help.

Click here to learn more about IT Effectiveness

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